I mean to make some point, but don't have the patience with myself tonight to actually get there.

;-)

I'm pretty convinced the Conowingo Dam in Maryland is THE place to go on the East Coast to see bald eagles in winter.

It's spectacular! Go there!

(bring your long lens, though)

I've never seen so many eagles at one time, in so many plumages... juvenile eagles are gorgeous!

The setting doesn't befit them, but still it manages to be memorable and goosebump-making.

I'll remember the people there with me and the sound of their cameras (hundreds of shutters clicking at once like the sound I imagine on the red carpet at a movie premiere) and feeling very, very lucky to have the chance to witness such a thing.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Saturday, November 28, 2009

This is Otis... he's a photographer from Virginia. We met today at the Conowingo Dam in Maryland where we were both photographing the bald eagles that congregate there in the winter.

Truth be told, with my little lens, I was mostly photographing the other people that were photographing the eagles...

Talk about camera envy!

I hesitate to call anyone I met today a stranger... there's a certain camaraderie that exists naturally among birders and others who enjoy the outdoors. I do know, however, that many of us prefer to remain behind the lens. Otis was an exception to that and I was glad for his smile (and to know that much of his set-up, intimidating as it looks, is homemade and affordable.)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

First off, can you just concentrate your energies on leaving well-enough alone, please?

You know, like, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

We'd been at it this way for many, many years before you found yourself promoted and will be left with the legacy of your poor decisions for many, many years after you retire.

(We all might sympathize with your unspoken desire to leave some mark before you fade away into the sunset, but screwing around with a unit that for years has been a *high performer* makes no sense. We're not doing it wrong, for godsakes!)

Secondly, if you must insist on change for its own sake, please respect us enough to ask for our input. We and our clients will be directly affected by your penny-wise and pound-foolish decisions.

And if you think, as you seem to, that our clients don't need the direct, hands-on services of a social worker, well... it's been entirely too long since you've done fieldwork yourself.

Spend an afternoon with one of us on Bangs Avenue, dodging stray pit-bulls and drive-bys and the young mom who finally finished school and wants to work at home as a daycare provider. The state won't certify her there, though, (all those bullet holes in the siding) and she's got no money to move with. Plus there's her severely handicapped son who gets excellent services in his current school district.

Or on Springwood with the elderly lady who's days away from being put out of her house because a bank foreclosed on her landlord. She's got nowhere to go and I needed the time this week to wheel and deal with the bank to get her a cash-for-keys offer so she'll have money for a security deposit on a new place.

Instead you sent me to training to learn to do my secretary's job.

(As if I have the time to wear any more *hats*.)

Maybe sit at my desk for a day and explain to any one of my mentally-ill AND chemically-dependent clients (who call at least once a day, by the way) why I can't be there to help solve their current life-crisis-of-the-day because I'm too busy filing and making photocopies of contracts and chasing down repayment agreements because you insisted we don't need a secretary to do those things.

Oh and Mr. G. is off his meds again and dumpster-diving for leftovers. Maybe his Food Stamp worker will handle that.

(If building management doesn't evict him first for being a nuisance.)

You can't insist that we're doing a good job and then assiduously go about dismantling us.

(Jeesh!)

Please don't insult us or our clerical staff by acting as if we're all interchangeable and replaceable. I know as much about bookkeeping as Louise knows about social work.

(I take that back. Louise could do my job in a minute, but you'd have to pay her a lot more than you do now.)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Approaching a stranger to ask for their photo is not.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'd been pacing up and down the boardwalk for nearly an hour, trying to get up the nerve to approach someone and ask. That in itself was a fun exercise... looking into people's faces for something interesting... imagining the stories one might tell if I worked up the courage to talk to them.

Most wouldn't even make eye contact.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He'd said no the first time I asked. I smiled and thanked him, but didn't back away. We talked for a bit and eventually, I asked again. He agreed, reluctantly, wanting to remain anonymous. He relaxed enough to tell me about his street art; after thirty minutes or so I felt okay about taking out my camera. He never once froze, or smiled stiffly at me, or stopped talking. It felt kinda like magic, this thing that my camera let happen...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How would you feel if a stranger approached you for a photo? What might make it enjoyable for you, or not?

It scares me. A lot. I'm shy! That's kinda how I know it's the right thing to do, the right direction to head in to stretch myself in unpredictable and meaningful ways. Once a week I'll try it. It's about photo-making yes, but more about stepping outside my own box and what feels comfortable to me. Maybe I'll get a good photo once in a while. Certainly I'll meet some interesting people who I never would otherwise. A camera is as good an excuse as any, I think.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Monday, November 16, 2009

I'm about climbing the walls with it getting dark so early and having so little time outdoors most days.

I'm so bored I'm actually cooking!

;-)

And I'm reading some, which is nice to have the time for again. This evening I re-read my tattered copy of Khalil Gibran's The Prophet... which I first read back in high school. There's an essay of his about gardening that I've been searching for, and haven't yet found, but I did come across this beautiful poem by him online and thought I'd share it...

The strong shore is my belovedAnd I am his sweetheart.We are at last united by love, andThen the moon draws me from him.I go to him in haste and departReluctantly, with manyLittle farewells.

I steal swiftly from behind theBlue horizon to cast the silver ofMy foam upon the gold of his sand, andWe blend in melted brilliance.

I quench his thirst and submerge hisHeart; he softens my voice and subduesMy temper.At dawn I recite the rules of love uponHis ears, and he embraces me longingly.

At eventide I sing to him the song ofHope, and then print smooth hisses uponHis face; I am swift and fearful, but heIs quiet, patient, and thoughtful. HisBroad bosom soothes my restlessness.

As the tide comes we caress each other,When it withdraws, I drop to his feet inPrayer.

Many times have I danced around mermaidsAs they rose from the depths and restedUpon my crest to watch the stars;Many times have I heard lovers complainOf their smallness, and I helped them to sigh.

Many times have I teased the great rocksAnd fondled them with a smile, but neverHave I received laughter from them;Many times have I lifted drowning soulsAnd carried them tenderly to my belovedShore. He gives them strength as heTakes mine.

Many times have I stolen gems from theDepths and presented them to my belovedShore. He takes them in silence, but stillI give fro he welcomes me ever.

In the heaviness of night, when allCreatures seek the ghost of Slumber, ISit up, singing at one time and sighingAt another. I am awake always.

Alas! Sleeplessness has weakened me!But I am a lover, and the truth of loveIs strong.I may be weary, but I shall never die.

--Khalil Gibran

There's something that happens about midway through this poem that causes me to laugh quietly... I'm not really sure what it is, but I love the smile it brings to my face.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

I was out this afternoon with my camera and all the other Looky-Lous to see what sort of havoc this week's nor'easter had wrought... the sea's still really angry-looking, but finally the wind's stopped howling.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

There's nothing better on a blistery autumn day than a properly made pot pie.

(or a woolly bear caterpillar)

;-)

Common folklore says the severity of the coming winter can be predicted by the amount of black on a woolly bear. It's believed that if a woolly bear caterpillar's brown stripe is thick, the winter weather will be mild and if narrow, the winter will be severe.